Renault Zoe Z.E. By Peter

It was the only BEV I could justify buying, and even then it was twice the price of the ICE model it is based on. I was hoping to have the choice of the ZOE, the new LEAF and the IONIQ, but the availability of the last two was repeatedly delayed for at least a year, and I could not wait that long.

How long have you owned the vehicle? 4 weeks.

Which other models did you consider at the time of purchase? There were no other reasonably priced BEVs to consider.

Do you own any other vehicles? No

Do you have them for long trips or practical reasons?

No – we need only one car for the vast majority of the time and will hire an ICE vehicle if necessary.

What do you enjoy the most about the car?

Apart from the quiet, and occasionally accelerating with ECO mode turned off, I enjoy driving past petrol stations! Also, watch the battery recharge when slowing down and braking is good.

What niggles you about it? Nothing yet.

Has your style of driving changed since owning an EV? No – I have had to be a smooth driver due to mechanical problems with the car the ZOE replaced (2000 Subaru Liberty 2.5RX wagon which needed the engine mountings replaced among many other problems), so have well-developed anticipation skills. The report on consumption and anticipation provided by the ZOE after each trip is a nice reward.

What’s the longest and shortest range you’ve experienced?

Have only gone from full charge to full charge once so far – 222km on country roads at an average speed of about 65kph. Unsurprisingly consumption increases exponentially with speed, so range in the suburbs is much better than on country trips.

Where do you mostly charge? And do you make much use of public charging stations?At home, but have used several private 15amp sockets on the country trip.

How much longer do you intend to keep it for? A long time, provided all goes well. I was impressed that the maintenance log has provision to record services up to 300km!

Would you buy another one, if not what’s your next car going to be? I hope not to have to buy another car ever!

How have the dealers been with regards to support?OK so far, my questions have all been satisfactorily answered.

Do you unashamedly consider yourself an EVangelist? Yes, and for renewable energy in general.

Anything else to add that might help prospective buyers?

Don’t put much reliance on the estimated range – it is based on consumption for the last 200km, so if you set out on a trip using expressways while the last 200km was tooling around the suburbs, the range will be serious over estimate. You would be better to work out the range based on experience – about 14kWh/100km in the suburbs, 17kWh/100km on country roads, 20kWh/100km on expressways.

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Customer Testimonial

“Russell the EVolution owner called me on a Saturday after I had looked at their website and submitted an enquiry online. Within a few days, the courier delivered the charger and I got a call from one of the electricians they use here in Brisbane. The next day at 9 amthe electrician arrived and fitted the charger, via our sub-board linked to our solar system. The charger works really well with the Renault Zoe, the first in QLD. Thanks Russell. Your company delivers, really well!”